Ohio State walked off the court last night like it had just won a regular season game. Meanwhile, when the camera moved over to the UMass bench, there was passion, happiness and a visible sadness that comes with the end of something important.

• Ron Chimelis recaps the season in The Republican, calling it an "unquestioned success."

• LSU has hired ex-Duke Athletic Director Joe Alleva, says the Shreveport Times. Glenn Guilbeau notes that the school hopes to revive the stalled talks with Anthony Grant, head coach of Virginia Commonwealth, now that they have an AD in place.

"We had a brief conversation today, and I mentioned the importance of hiring a basketball coach," LSU interim chancellor William Jenkins said after announcing that Alleva was LSU's man.

"And that's under way. I would hope we'd have one in a week. It's a very good pool of candidates."

...

Also at the top of that list from the beginning are Massachusetts coach Travis Ford and Washington State coach Tony Bennett, whose wife is from Baton Rouge. Ausberry said Dan Parker of the Parker Executive Search firm that handled the athletic director search and is handling the basketball coach search, informed various candidates on Friday that Alleva was the new LSU athletic director.

With Alleva hired, it's conceivable that the list of potential candidates could grow because of his long association with Duke and its powerhouse basketball program.

Included in the list of coaches with ties to Duke and Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski are Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker and current Blue Devils associate head coach Johnny Dawkins. Former Missouri coach Quin Snyder is another former Duke player and assistant. Of that group, Brey might be the most intriguing.

• In the Globe, Mark Blaudschun notes that Ford is in San Antonio for the Final Four. For what it's worth.